Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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458.To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if a response will issue to a submission in respect of a smaller business in advance of Budget 2025 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.[33868/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O’Dowd for sharing this correspondence with me and I have issued a response in respect of this correspondence which addressed the detail of these queries. I understand that a number of issues and policy proposals have been raised in this correspondence, as were highlighted in the Irish Hairdressers Federation Pre-Budget Submission.

I fully recognise the challenges that are facing the SME sector right across the country, including hairdressers, and while I will endeavour to support these businesses further, I also think it is important to highlight the measures that have been taken to support SMEs over the course of the year to date.

In March 2024, my Department and the Department of Social Protection published an assessment of the combined impact of proposed measures to improve working conditions in Ireland, including the transition to a Living Wage and increasing the number of days of Statutory Sick Leave.

Following on from this assessment, a range of measures were announced in May 2024 to assist the SME sector in dealing with higher costs and to improve the cost competitiveness of firms more generally.

These include:

• Increasing the Employer PRSI threshold from €441 to €496 with effect from 1 October 2024, which will ensure that employers with employees earning the weekly equivalent of the national minimum wage will pay the lower rate of employer PRSI of 8.8%.
• Doubling the Innovation Grant Scheme from €5,000 to €10,000.
• Increasing the maximum amount available under the Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme to €10,000 and reducing the business contribution rate from 50% to 25%.
• Launching the new online National Enterprise Hub for SMEs to access information on the wide range of Government business supports.
• Implementing an enhanced ‘SME Test’ by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in conjunction with the Department of An Taoiseach.

I understand that a proposal was raised to reduce the Hospitality VAT rate to 9% and I would note that ultimately, any changes to the VAT rate are a decision for the Minister for Finance as part of the Budget.

Overall, I am sympathetic to the issues faced by small businesses, including those operating in the hospitality sector. This was the emphasis behind the measures announced for SMEs in April of this year, including the changes to PRSI and this is why I sought to ensure that the second ICOB grant payment was specifically targeted at these businesses.